Get ready to feel inadequate, there’s a new producer making a splash in the Australian music scene and he’s only 11 freaken years old. Known to his mum and dad as Rhys, the Canberra EDM king makes beats under the name Black Summer.
Already boasting fans like Nina Las Vegas and Flume, the EDM prodigy told triple j he’s been making music for “five or six years now” – meaning he started at age 5, when you and I were busy learning how to tie our shoes.
“You’d hear Metallica blaring out of his room, then he’d be singing along to Pink Floyd, then he’s on the computer making electronic music,” explains his dad. “We don’t have a clue how to operate what he uses.”
Now Black Summer has himself a studio, set up in his dad’s home office, and has uploaded three tracks to his triple j Unearthed profile. One track, Toxic Nirvana (below), even has its own stop-motion music video made with Lego.
And as for any of the haters out there, Black Summer isn’t concerned. “Some people say, ‘oh this person’s better [or] the beats don’t sound good enough,’ and stuff, but just remember, I’m 11 years old.”
Watch: Meet Australia’s youngest producer
Watch: Black Summer – Toxic Nirvana
.@inthemix doesnt surprise me. late to the game imho…. im pretty sure 7 year olds could grasp modern day EDM just as easily. kudos to him
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) April 15, 2015
@dmaster4391 because youre not 11.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) April 15, 2015
“WHEN I WAS 11… THEY DIDNT HAVE SOFTWARE AND PLUGINS… AND WE HAD TO… wait.. when i was 11 i was saving up for a bmx.
— deadmau5 (@deadmau5) April 15, 2015